Al-Alam, Libyan Olympic committee president, kidnapped

Ahmed Nabil al-Taher al-Alam, the head of Libya's Olympic committee, was abducted by gunmen in the capital Tripoli. So far no arrests have been made.

Ahmed Nabil al-Taher al-Alam, the head of Libya's Olympic committee, was abducted by gunmen in Tripoli on Sunday.

Arafat Juwan, Alam's office chief, told the AFP, "Nine gunmen posing as members of the Libyan army removed Mr. Alam from his car in the center of the city at around 3:00 pm (1300 GMT) and took him to an unknown location." So far no arrests have been made.

International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge expressed “grave” concern to the Associated Press about the kidnapping. His office told the AP they “offered any possible help if we can do something.”

The AFP noted that al-Alam served as the head of the Libyan Football Association under Gaddafi and is known to have been friends with Gaddafi’s son, Mohammed, who was al-Alam’s predecessor as the Libyan Olympic Committee president.

According to the BBC, al-Alam's abduction came a few days before the planned departure of Libya's five representatives to the London Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Fethi Tarbel, Libya's Sports and Youth Minister, told Reuters, "We condemn this kind of action. Whoever did this are criminals. This goes against the revolution, this brings us back to the Gaddafi culture... I don't know if he [Mr Elalem] had any issues with anyone."